Professions & trades

Gold painted plaster bust of William John Mackay, Commissioner of Police
Underworld

Big Bill MacKay

William John MacKay (1885–1948), known as Bill, was a Scottish-born police officer who played a major role in policing Sydney’s underworld during the 1920s

William John Mackay, NSW Police Commissioner
Underworld

Central Police Station – a policeman’s critique

Most of the Special photographs were taken in the yards at Sydney’s Central Police Station, located in the central business district next to the Central court complex

Seaman at the ship's wheel

Crew and passengers 1828-1841

This index may assist those searching for crew of ships arriving in New South Wales between 1828 and 1841

Photograph for Roll of Honour 1914-1918 for Pennant Hills & Thornleigh District designed by F.W. Tod & Co.
WW1

Design & manufacture of honour rolls

Many honour rolls take the form of honour boards, panels of timber with names lettered in gold or white

A large group of men stand in front of a train carriage at the Eveleigh Workshops in 1917

Eveleigh Workshops during the 1917 railway strike

On 2 August 1917 the General Strike began. It started in the Randwick Rail Workshops & Eveleigh Carriage Workshops & quickly spread to other industries until about 100,000 workers were on strike

First police woman in Australia

On 1 July 1915 the first two policewomen in Australia were appointed

Still from Out of the Shadows

Out of the Shadows c.1945

A film produced by the NSW Department of Health for the purpose of recruiting nurses for NSW Mental Health hospitals

George Phillips, Special Photograph number 1645, 25 February 1928, probably Central Police Station, Sydney

Police

Sydney’s police force had lost many men on the battlefields of France during World War I and it took some time to rebuild. With resources stretched, police struggled to maintain law and order in an environment where criminal behaviour was evolving.

Police Service Card for Constable Hooper. AK724 Container 62

Police service cards

These cards are a rich source of information about police serving in NSW between 1913 and 1986